Yield10 Bioscience, Inc. (YTEN) Misses Q1 EPS by 15c

Yield10 Bioscience, Inc. (NASDAQ: YTEN) reported Q1 EPS of ($2.12), $0.15 worse than the analyst estimate of ($1.97). Revenue for the quarter came in at $179 thousand versus the consensus estimate of $170 thousand.

Recent Accomplishments in 2020

• Appointed Sherri M. Brown, Ph.D., to the Board of Directors. Dr. Brown will also serve as the chair of the newly formed Science and Technology Committee of the Board.
• Secured a positive response from USDA-APHIS on the regulatory status of our CRISPR genome-edited C3007 trait in Camelina, paving the way for U.S. field tests in 2020.
• Secured all regulatory permits required for U.S. and Canadian sites, completed all seed scale up and other logistics activities to enable our field trials and announced plans for our 2020 Field Testing Program in Camelina and canola.
• Signed a contract with a third-party seed company to advance our early development program in corn. The next steps in the technical development of our traits in corn include creating hybrid lines, bulking up seed, and conducting field testing. The goal of this effort is to evaluate the impact of several of our novel traits on seed yield in corn.

COVID-19 impact on operations. The Company has implemented business continuity plans to address the COVID-19 pandemic and minimize disruptions on ongoing operations. To date, despite the pandemic, we have been able to move forward with planning and operational steps required to initiate our planned 2020 field trials in Canada and the United States. It is possible, however, that current and potential future closures of our research facilities, if they continue for an extended time period, could adversely impact our anticipated time frames for completing field trials and other work we have planned to accomplish during 2020.

“In the first quarter, we prioritized focus on activities relating to our 2020 Field Testing program where we expect our major technical milestones for the year will be generated,” said Oliver Peoples, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Yield10 Bioscience. “Permitting for testing of our traits at sites in the United States and Canada was completed in April for the largest field testing program we have ever undertaken, a testament to the outstanding outcome our team achieved working closely with regulatory agencies and our field site contractors. We expect planting will take place in the second quarter.”

“In Camelina, we are progressing a technical and business plan to support a specialty products business. We are also making excellent progress in our corn development program where we executed a smooth transition between the contractor who deployed several of our novel traits in corn and the new contractor who will carry the program forward through initial field tests. This rapid transition may enable us to begin field tests on some of the lines in 2021 to evaluate performance of these seed yield traits."

“As 2020 progresses, we look forward to ongoing program developments and remain focused on advancing our traits to achieve additional development milestones, advancing our business plan for Camelina, continuing to build relationships with major agricultural companies, and further demonstrating the commercial pathways for our performance traits," said Dr. Peoples.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Yield10 Bioscience, Inc. (YTEN) click here.

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